Awareness and Acceptance of Ayurveda Products and …2859435894/2017/03/... · For example, Dabur...

Asian Journal

of Research in

Marketing Asian Journal of Research in Marketing Vol. 6, No. 1, February 2017, pp. 38-55.

ISSN 2277-6621

38

www.aijsh.com

Asian Research Consortium

Awareness and Acceptance of Ayurveda Products and

Services in Indian Urban Market: A Survey Research

Dr. Arunangshu Giri*

*Assistant Professor,

Haldia Institute of Technology,

Haldia, West Bengal, India.

[email protected]

Abstract

Ayurveda system provides long-term support to develop inherent powers of the body to fight

against the diseases focuses the overall wellness of a person in highly personalized way (Hans,

1999 & Ernst, 1998). Ayurveda had been integrated in Indian culture since ancient time. So the

awareness of the benefits of medicinal and aromatic plants among people has been used as a

driving force for Indian pharmaceutical industry (Nagori, 2011). Now, Ayurveda sector is focusing

more development on food, cosmetics and perfumes industries with natural influences in the future

perspectives. Ayurveda products have got the popularity in current days for quick acceptance of

different Ayurveda products segment by the Indian urban people (Mukherjee, 2002 & Francis,

1994). For example, Dabur has created diversified product profile from biomedical or healthcare

products (Chyawanprash, Pudinhara) to family products (Lal Danthamanjan, Hair Oil) to capture

the market (Harilal, 2009). As per Hussain, et al. (1997), Ayurvedic medical system emphasizes the

healing of body and mind of a person in highly personalized way. In developing countries, most of

the medical bills have been paid by government or insurers and employers which are 87% of health

care expenses in U.S. But, in India, the spending amount for health care is very high. So, Indian

people are attracted towards less expensive Ayurveda medical system. Also opportunity is huge for

private investment and entrepreneurship in this medical system (Dawson and Pollard, 2007). This

study focuses the influences of different factors on Ayurveda acceptance and awareness in Indian

urban market. This study emphasizes the future marketing strategies with a business model for

Ayurveda sector development. The finding discusses the effective promotional tools for increasing

Ayurveda awareness in Indian urban market.

Keywords: Ayurveda Acceptance and Awareness, Indian urban market, Marketing strategies,

Effective promotional tools.

Giri (2017). Asian Journal of Research in Marketing,

Vol. 6, No.1, pp. 38-55.

39

Introduction

The accessibility of low priced Ayurveda products will be increased if India initiates own

development process as huge availably of economically important bio-diversified herbs

(Ravishankar, et al, 1999). The increasing demand of Ayurveda products focuses the requirement

of more numbers of labour in different activities from collection of raw materials to transportation

to the market. In this way Ayurveda industries can create employment opportunities in Indian

economy (Singh & Swanson, 2006). The Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha

and Homeopathy) operates many hospitals and clinics for maintaining Indian traditional health care

systems. Indian government has taken initiatives to set up training infrastructure for boosting

employment in this sector. Vocational training schemes and Skill Development Initiative Schemes

(SDIS) under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, provide different wellness courses including

Ayurveda treatments. For the development of Ayurveda sector Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII) focuses on the needs and status of the workers, working under this industry (MOHFW, 1998).

The Department of AYUSH has initiated to create skilled doctors and spread the knowledge of

alternative medical systems including Ayurveda by establishing national institutes in India (FICCI

– PwC, 2011). It is expected that the current improvement of Ayurveda infrastructure will produce

more skilled and sufficient numbers of Ayurveda doctors in Indian market. (Patwardhan, et al.,

2009). To measure the general awareness of Ayurvedic system, 8 questions which include the

factors of trustworthiness, curability, quality measures, dependability efficiency, side effects etc.

are prepared to examine the response from the customers (Jawla, et al., 2009). Verma (2010)

discussed several dimensions in his article for awareness and acceptance level of Ayurveda like

familiarity, reliability, dependability, trustworthiness of Ayurveda treatments. Wang, et al. (2009)

also discussed about the effectiveness and reliability factors of Ayurveda treatments in his study.

Theoretical Background and Hypothesis Development

Present Ayurveda Promotional Initiatives

People are aware about the information of Ayurvedic medicines through TV, Newspaper, Books

etc. Pharmacist and government can take an important role to promote Ayurveda in Indian market.

Government should monitor effectively the standards of Ayurveda products and also implement the

tax relaxation policy, so that Ayurveda will be available in affordable price (Nagori, K. et al.,

2011). Chyawanprash, Triphala, as classical products and other OTC Ayurveda products like

beauty products are advertised through different media like television and print media. So

awareness about Ayurveda products among people have been increased drastically by media and

this drives them to purchase Ayurveda products. Sometimes, it has been noticed that some popular

biomedical products like Dabur‟s „Pudinhara‟ are hugely advertised through different media

(Harilal, 2009). The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has introduced Marketing Development Assistance

scheme (MDA) to provide financial support to Ayurveda tourism service providers for organizing

conferences, fairs, road shows etc. Ministry of Tourism's "Incredible India Campaign" promotes

Ayurveda by the help of print, internet, electronic and other media. NDTV, TLC India, Discovery

Networks etc. promotes Ayurveda through different wellness program and shows. Times Wellness,

introduced by the Times of India is an online portal for people‟s fitness. A magazine, B Positive

which is published by Apollo Life, consists of all health related information (FICCI – PwC, 2011).


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„Ayush Swasthya Kendra‟, a Telemedicine hub, providers of Ayurveda treatments, was started in

Tripura and expanded in Bihar by AYUSH with the cooperation of IL&FS (Infrastructure Financial

and Leasing Services) (Alexander, 2010). Popular Ayurveda brands like Dabur, Himalaya,

Baidyanath, Zandu, Vicco etc. along with other small brands have their online presence in social

networking sites (Facebook etc.) (Sankaranarayanan, 2012). Awareness has been increased through

different Ayurveda Journals and Periodicals by different Indian bodies. For example few Ayurvedic

pharmaceutical organizations (Ayurved Vikas by Dabur Pvt. Ltd., Sachitra Ayurved by Vaidyanath,

Probe by Himalaya), Government organizations (Journal of Ayurveda by National Institute of

Ayurveda, Journal of Research in Ayurveda and Siddha by CCRAS), professional organizations

(Journal of NIMA by National Integrated Medical Association), NGOs (Journal of Research &

Education in Indian medicine) have taken initiatives in this regard (Baghel, 2005). Verma (2010)

referred monthly research Magazines of Ayurveda which are under the supervision of Baba

Ramdev. These research Magazines which carry weightage in the promotional activities of

Ayurveda are available in different languages in the national and international market. Thus there is

a positive relationship between present Ayurveda promotional initiatives and Ayurveda awareness

in Indian urban market. So, we posit:

H1: Present Ayurveda promotional initiatives positively influence the Ayurveda Awareness in

Indian urban market

Competitive Edge with Popular Medical Systems

Modern medical system like Allopathy system which uses powerful drugs, provides aggressive

intervention to quick fixation of diseases and concentrates on surgery, chemotherapy, etc. But

Ayurveda treatments deals with natural and non-artificial herbal products with hands-on treatments

(Hans, 1999). As per Tirodkar (2008), Ayurveda philosophy which focuses on avoiding unhealthy

eating habit for wellness of the body differs from Allopathy philosophy. He also reported that

people are attracted towards Ayurveda products and treatments after going through all exhausted

and costly Allopathic products and treatments. Because of cost effectiveness and less side effects of

Ayurveda products, acceptance level of Ayurveda system is gradually increasing than Allopathy

(Raj, et al., 2011). The adverse effects of Allopathy drugs are experienced by 2 million patients in

U.S. every year; among them 1 lakh patients die from these drugs. Now, Allopathy hospitals are

known as the third largest killer in Australia (Cordner, 1995; Bates, 1995; Lazarou, 1998). A survey

was conducted by Nagori, K. et al. (2011) in Chhattisgarh, India for comparing different medical

system. It was revealed from the survey that 41% people inclined to Ayurveda compared to

Allopathy 31% and Homeopathy 28%. Also the study opened the fact that 93.9% of people

experience more side effects in Allopathy comparison with Ayurveda (3.45%) and Homeopathy

(2.65%). 44% people prefer Ayurveda system for chronic diseases, whereas 30% for Allopathy and

26% for Homeopathy. Allopathy treatment deals with the direct cause effect relationship where

incorrect diagnosis causes the uncertainty of healing the particular disease (Morgan, 1985). On the

other hand, Ayurveda medical treatments do not highlight for curing a single disease and work on

the wellness of whole body (Chopra and Vijay 2002; Sharma et al. 2007). Allopathy medicine tries

to remove the cause of the symptom quickly. But Ayurveda treatment work slowly for identifying

and eliminating the underlying diseases. The patient having very poor health takes Allopathy

medicine. So, modern drugs can easily market themselves as quick healer of diseases. But


Vol. 6, No.1, pp. 38-55.

41

Ayurvedic medicines can protect to reach poor health condition through preventive mechanism

(Morgan, 1985; Wang, et al., 2009). So, we propose:

H2: Competitive edge with popular medical systems positively influence the Ayurveda Awareness

in Indian urban market

Ethical and Legal Issues and Challenges of Ayurveda Medical System

Lack of Public private partnerships (PPPs) has created a barrier for developing proper education

and training infrastructure for Ayurveda sectors. Customs duty and service tax of Ayurveda players

should be considered by the Government (FICCI – PwC, 2011). In India, Ayurveda industries do

not get proper financial support from local governments for handling different issues (Banerjee,

2004). Banerjee (2002) raised the issue that many Indian Ayurveda organizations used the

dangerous natural plant material for preparing the Ayurveda products. Interestingly common people

are not aware about this fact. He also stated that there was no regulatory authority available to

monitor these practices. But latest Rules of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act has helped the consumer

to avail proper Ayurvedic products in this regard. He focused on the other issues like the lack of

political will and organizational infrastructures as the barriers of developing Ayurveda sector. Good

Manufacturing Practices (GMP) should be followed more strictly to avoid heavy metal toxicity in

Ayurveda products (Raj, et al., 2011). The number of private Ayurveda colleges and government

colleges offering graduate level Ayurveda education and degree is 186 and 54 respectively in India.

This statistics shows the requirement of infrastructure in Ayurveda education sector in India. Also

those Ayurveda colleges have different issues like inadequate facilities of laboratories, operation

theatres, libraries, unavailability of qualified teaching and non-teaching staffs (Patwardhan, et al.,

2009). Unavailability of data and research supports are degrading the effectiveness of Clinical

Trials and validity of Ayurveda medicinal system (Margolin, 1999). Approximately 9,000 Indian

Ayurvedic manufacturers are engaged in selling their products over the counter. Among those

manufacturers, near about 1,800 units are certified (as per Schedule T, amended in June 2000) but

rest of them have not any certification (Express Pharma, 2006). Ayurveda products need social as

well as institutional backing and more policy support by the Government in current scenario

(Hariramamurthi & Kaushal, 2009). The Supreme Court banned prescribing of non-allopathic drugs

including Ayurveda by the Allopathy doctors as an illegal issue under civil and criminal laws

(Gulati, 2006). A huge number of illegal and unauthorized Ayurvedic product manufacturers are

observed in Indian market which has a negative impact on the trustworthiness of this sector (Subrat,

et al., 2002). India is facing challenges regarding standardization and regulations as per the

different aspects of international demand. Basically, Ayurveda organizations are focusing to

provide a holistic perspective of health care which increases Ayurveda's credibility towards the

Indian urban people in present scenario (Banerjee, 2002). Quality issues, inexperienced practitioner

in Ayurveda sector can cause serious problems about the safety perspective of Ayurvedic products

(Mukherjee & Mukherjee, 2005). In Indian Ayurveda market, attractive advertisement for creating

an image on the mind of the customer is not available which helps to develop the business of

Ayurveda industry (Banerjee, 2002). Banerjee (2004) pointed out the challenge regarding the effect

of globalization, acted on accessibility and affordability of Ayurvedic products to the people. In

preparation of Ayurveda products, the presences of heavy dangerous metals have been noticed as

active ingredients above the permissible limit which should be avoided (Ernst, 2002 & Mukherjee,


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et al., 2007). Another study reported the concerns regarding heavy metals in Ayurveda products

where significant amount of lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium have been observed (Saper, et al,

2004). Manufacturers should mention the warning and side effects of each Ayurveda product on its

packaging (Mukherjee, et al. 2007). So, we posit:

H3: Ethical and legal issues & challenges negatively influence the Ayurveda Awareness in Indian

urban market

Initiatives of Government and Private organizations for Ayurveda Sector

Development

Introducing Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a very important approach by Indian

Government (Khan, 2008). The issues regarding the protection of intellectual property rights of

Ayurveda products have been undertaken by the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library

(Patwardhan & Mashelkar, 2009). Also ISM (Indian System of Medicine) instructed its

practitioners and related product manufacturers to be more organized and quality conscious for

fulfilling the high western demand of plant-based health care products and services (GoI, 2001). In

2007, 8403 licensed Ayurvedic pharmacies were available in India with total turnover of Rs. 4000

crore (Thatte & Bhalerao, 2008). As per Ajmeri (2012), many people from the developed countries

come to India by the attraction of Indian traditional medical system Ayurveda. India has inherent

advantages with respect to cost & quality in Ayurveda sector which can help to create a strong

platform in Indian Medical tourism. According to the report of Ministry of Tourism, GOI (2011-

12), connecting with allopathic treatments, Indian traditional healthcare system Ayurveda provides

people a holistic wellness. Brochures & CDs on Ayurveda have been distributed extensively by the

Ministry of Tourism. India has the capability to maintain international standard of traditional health

care services at low cost (Ministry of Tourism, GOI, 2012). Ministry of Tourism helps financially

the approved service providers of Ayurveda medical tourism under the Market Development

Assistance Scheme (MDA) (Ministry of Tourism, GOI, 2012). In the last few decades, Dabur,

Himalaya, Zandu, Baidyanath, Arya Vaidya Sala etc., the leading Ayurveda organizations, have

taken a significant position in the market with a higher growth rate. Ayurvedic industry has set up a

strong place in OTC through major Indian registered Ayurvedic brands (Dabur, Baidyanath, Zandu,

Vicks, Moov , ENO, Amrutanjan, Itch Guard, etc.) in FMCG sector. Mainly, three brands (Dabur,

Baidyanath and Zandu) have covered approximately 85% of the Indian household market. License

is not needed in Indian OTC market for selling the Ayurvrda products. (Vaijayanthi, et al., 2012).

The reputed companies like Dabur, Himalaya etc. are significantly strengthening the area of

operations in cosmetics and personal care products where demand is increasing day by day (Bala,

1990). So, we propose:

H4: Initiatives by Government and private organization negatively influence the Ayurveda

Awareness in Indian urban market

Intention to Purchase Ayurveda Products

Robert Lavidge and Gary Steiner convey that customers generally move from an „Awareness‟ of

the product to the gaining „Knowledge‟ of the product's attributes. It follows the „Liking‟ for the

product which switches to the „Preference‟ for that product. The „Preference‟ influences to reach


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„Intention to Purchasing‟ stage of the product (Gilligan & Crowther, 1983). Rajeev Bhatra et.al,

(2008) described „The New Adopter Hierarchy Model‟ which explained the influences of

awareness on the purchase intention of the product. The DAGMAR approach model by Russel H.

Colley in 1961 elaborated the steps of this model which are „Unawareness‟, „Awareness‟,

„Comprehension and Image‟, „Attitude‟, „Action‟ (Bhatra, et.al, 2008). Strong (1920) stated that

advertisement communicated to consumer helps to move from „Awareness‟ step to the growing

„Interest‟ which creates „Desire‟. This „Desire‟ for the product directs consumer to purchase the

product in „Action‟ (Gilligan & Crowther, 1983). The Associated Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (ASSOCHAM) reveals in a study that demand of herbal products is very high in national

as well as international market with a high range (Saini, et al., 2011). So, we posit:

H5: Ayurveda Awareness will have significantly positive influence on Purchase intention of

Ayurveda products in Indian urban market

Hypothesized Research Model

Figure1: Hypothesized Research Model

This is the proposed hypothesized structural model for Awareness and Acceptance of Ayurveda

Products and Services in Indian urban market.

Research Methodology

For conducting the survey in this research, the questionnaire was prepared according to existing

literatures on this topic for determining awareness and acceptance level of Ayurveda products and

services in Indian urban market. Constructs and items used in this study were taken directly from

previous literatures and few new items were added from expert opinion. By the use of 5 point

Likert type scale which is ranged from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”, constructs were

evaluated using multiple items. In this study two stage cluster sampling under probability sampling

has been used as a sampling technique. Questionnaires were administered on a sample of 250 in


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this study. Occupational groups with 50 each, consisting of Students, Service Holders (men),

Service Holders (women), Housewives and Self-employed were taken for the sample. This focus

group consists of different educational qualifications, income groups and gender. The study was

conducted in Kolkata which is one of the metropolitan cities in India. Out of total 250

questionnaires that were distributed, 204 completely filled and usable questionnaires were received.

The main survey period was 5th May, 2015 to 10th November 2015.

Table 1: Demographic Profile of Respondents

Variable Category No. %

Gender Male 99 48.5

Female 105 51.5

Occupation

Student 42 20.6

Service Holder (Man) 47 23.0

Service Holder (Women) 36 17.6

House Wife 45 22.1

Self Employed 34 16.7

Edu. Qualification

Under Graduate 62 30.4

Graduate 68 33.3

Post Graduate 74 36.3 Source: Author‟s field data, 2015

Analysis and Result

Structure equation modeling (SEM) by AMOS 20.0 has been used in this study. By the

measurement and structural model, validity test and fitness of the model have been examined. At

first, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) by SPSS 17 has been implemented for questionnaire

validation by data reduction.

Table 2: KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. 0.724

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 4588.184

df 171

Sig. <0.001

KMO and Bartlett's Test (Table 2) shows the appropriateness of factor analysis and proves the

Convergent validity of survey data.

Table 3: Overall Reliability Statistics

Cronbach’s Alpha Number of Items

.7171 19

Total Cases: 204


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Cronbach alpha (Table 3) greater than 0.70 for overall and individual factor means the reliability

scaling is good under various items. By the help of expert‟s suggestions face validity and content

validity have been executed. 6 different factors have been created with different items (above 0.5

factor loading) which are shown below in the Rotated Component Matrix. These extracted factors

explain total 87.19 % of the variations. Variance explained (%) and Cronbach alpha for individual

factors have been given in the following table (Table-4).

Table 4: Result of Factor Analysis - Rotated Component Matrix (a)

Component

Present

Ayurveda

Promotional

Initiatives

(PREPRO)

Competitive

Edge with

Popular

Medical

System

(COMPOP)

Ethical &

Legal

Issues &

Challenges

(ETHLEG)

Ayurveda

Awareness

(AWA)

Intention

to

purchase

Ayurveda

Products

(INTPUR)

Initiatives by

Government

& Private

Organization

(INIGOV)

q10 .946 .231 -.133 .025 .069 -.054

q8 .906 .225 -.073 .042 .110 -.083

q9 .900 .180 -.057 .069 .052 -.102

q7 .887 .242 -.180 .056 .038 -.081

q14 .238 .930 -.187 .052 .109 -.101

q12 .214 .866 -.213 .059 .134 -.095

q11 .213 .864 -.180 .065 .101 -.200

q13 .259 .836 -.152 .022 .085 .044

q16 -.117 -.221 .914 .030 -.083 -.016

q15 -.134 -.223 .909 .043 -.056 .105

q17 -.120 -.160 .908 .075 -.042 -.085

q2 .047 .051 .046 .914 .266 -.035

q1 .004 .030 .035 .899 .228 -.088

q3 .111 .069 .065 .878 .151 .086

q5 .035 .099 -.035 .254 .885 -.065

q4 -.014 .050 -.041 .293 .780 -.207

q6 .233 .223 -.119 .150 .752 .005

q18 -.141 -.104 .066 -.010 -.097 .928

q19 -.097 -.123 -.073 -.016 -.112 .922

Variance

explained 19.329 18.291 14.289 13.775 11.605 9.907

Cronbach

Alpha 0.963 0.950 0.938 0.918 0.823 0.899

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.

a Rotation Converged in 6 Iterations

Confirmirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used for determination of awareness and acceptance

level of Ayurveda products and services in Indian urban market. Hair et.al. (1998) suggested the

following model fit indexes (Table 5) in this regard.


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Table 5: Fit Indices of CFA for Structural Model of ‘Awareness and

Acceptance of Ayurveda Products and Services’

Fit Index Acceptable Threshold

Levels

Structural

Model Values

χ2/df ( Chi-square / degree of freedom) Values less than 3 0.854

RMSEA (Root mean-square error of approximation) Values less than 0.06 0.001

GFI (Goodness of fit index) Values greater than 0.90 0.994

AGFI (Adjusted goodness of fit index) Values greater than 0.90 0.971

NFI (Normed fit index) Values greater than 0.90 0.991

CFI (Comparative fit index) Values greater than 0.90 1.000

All fit indices of Structural model are crossed the acceptable threshold level. So it concludes a good

model fit.

Assessing Multicollinearity

Multicollinearity was checked through VIF (variance inflation factor) which should be less than 3

for acceptability range (Zuur et al., 2010). Here all VIF values (Table 6) are in acceptable range in

Ayurveda Awareness and Acceptance model when dependent variable is ‘Ayurveda Awareness’. It

concludes that the variables are free from multicollinearity.

Table 6: Collinearity Statistics when ‘Ayurveda Awareness’ as dependent

Variable

Collinearity Statistics

Tolerance VIF

Ethical & Legal Issues 0.802 1.247

Initiatives By Government & Private Organizations 0.915 1.093

Present Ayurveda Promotional Initiatives 0.731 1.368

Competitive Edge with popular medical system 0.643 1.555

Figure 2: Outcome of Hypothesized Structural Model of ‘Awareness and

Acceptance of Ayurveda Products and Services’


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Table 7: Squared Correlations between factors in Measurement Model

ETHLEG AWA INTPUR PREPRO COMPOP INIGOV

ETHLEG 0.934

AWA -0.475 0.878

INTPUR -0.172 0.476 0.846

PREPRO -0.303 0.526 0.222 0.940

COMPOP -0.404 0.619 0.276 0.495 0.925

INIGOV 0.041 -0.479 -0.233 -0.235 -0.237 0.944 *Diagonal elements are Average variance extracted (AVE).

Table 8: Measurement Model Result

Constructs/

Factors Variables

Standardized

Regression

Estimate

Construct

Reliability

(CR)

Average

variance

extracted

(AVE)

Maximum

Shared

Variance

(MSV)

Average

Shared

Variance

(ASV)

Ayurveda

Awareness

q1 0.898

0.910 0.771 0.383 0.268 q2 0.906

q3 0.828

Intention to

Purchase

Ayurveda

Products

q4 0.834

0.882 0.715 0.227 0.087 q5 0.897

q6 0.803

Present

Ayurveda

Promotional

Initiatives

q7 0.935

0.968 0.884 0.277 0.144 q8 0.941

q9 0.905

q10 0.978

Competitive

Edge with

popular

medical

system

q11 0.914

0.959 0.855 0.383 0.185 q12 0.932

q13 0.871

q14 0.978

Ethical &

Legal Issues

& Challenges

q15 0.928

0.954 0.872 0.226 0.102 q16 0.941

q17 0.933

Initiatives By

Government

& Private

Organizations

q18 0.942

0.942 0.891 0.229 0.079 q19 0.946

The above table shows higher item reliability because of all Standardized Regression Estimates are

greater than 0.7 (Chin, 1998 & Hair et al., 1998). Construct Reliabilities (CR) values which are

more than 0.7 supports internal consistency among the items of underlying factors. The convergent

validity of measurement model supports in this study where all Average variance extracted (AVE)

is more than 0.5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981 and Hair et al., 1998). Also discriminant validity can be

evaluated by the AVE values which should be greater than corresponding squared inter-construct

correlation (SIC). The conditions (CR > AVE, MSV < AVE and ASV < AVE) under Measurement

model also support the convergent and discriminant validity (Table 7 & Table 8).


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Table 9: Path Analysis of Structural Model for ‘Awareness and Acceptance of

Ayurveda Products and Services’

Measurement Path Hypothesis Regression

Estimate

t-values

(CR)

P-

value

Assessment

AWA ← PREPRO H1 0.17 3.796 *** Supported

AWA ← COMPOP H2 0.364 7.172 *** Supported

AWA ← ETHLEG H3 -0.192 -5.333 *** Supported

AWA ← INIGOV H4 -0.245 -7.263 *** Supported

INTPUR ← AWA H5 0.529 8.386 *** Supported *Significant Regression co-efficient (P<0.01 and 0.05)

Path Analysis for Hypothesis Testing

1. H1: Present Ayurveda promotional initiatives positively influence the Ayurveda


It is supported by hypothesized structural model. The path coefficient is statistically

significant (p<0.001) and it has the expected positive sign (+0.017) which implies that Present

Ayurveda Promotional Initiatives positively influence the Ayurveda Awareness in Indian urban

market

Here also we are interested to know which promotional initiatives influence the present market

more.

Table 10: Friedman One-Way ANOVA for Mean Rank

(Ayurveda Promotional Media)

Test Statistics (Friedman Test)

Items Mean Rank

N 204 q 7 (Hoardings or Electronic Board) 2.32

Chi-Square 34.597 q 8 (Print Media) 2.45

Df 3 q 9 (TV Advertisement) 2.76

Asymp. Sig. <0.001** q 10 (Internet) 2.47 Note: ** denotes significant at 1% level

From the above statistics, we can rank the items with respondents‟ accessibility, i.e. TV

Advertisement, Internet, Print Media and Hoardings or Electronic Board respectively. So TV and

Internet are the most power media in present Ayurveda promotion.

2. H2: Competitive edge with popular medical systems positively influence the Ayurveda


The P-values for path coefficient from Competitive Edge with Popular Medical Systems to

Ayurveda Awareness is significant (p<0.001) and positive (+0.364) indicating that competitive

edge with popular medical systems positively influence the Ayurveda Awareness. So it is

concluded that the hypothesis is supported.


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49

3. H3: Ethical and legal issues & challenges negatively influence the Ayurveda Awareness in Indian

urban market


significant (p<0.001) and it has the expected negative sign (-0.192) which implies that Ethical and

legal Issues & challenges negatively affect the Ayurveda Awareness.

4. H4: Initiatives by Government and private organization negatively influence the Ayurveda



significant (p<0.001) and it has the expected negative sign (-0.245) which implies that Initiatives by

Government and Private Organization negatively affect the Ayurveda Awareness.

5. H5: Ayurveda Awareness will have significantly positive influence on Purchase intention of

Ayurveda products in Indian urban market


significant (p<0.001) and it has the expected positive sign (+0.529) which implies that Ayurveda

Awareness will positively affect the Purchase intention of Ayurveda products in Indian urban

market.

Research Finding

The findings for Ayurveda structural model shows that „Competitive edge with popular medical

systems‟, affects positively and „Initiatives by Government and private organizations‟ „Ethical and

Legal issues‟ affect negatively on „Ayurveda Awareness‟. These findings have consistent evidential

support from previous studies. „Ayurveda promotional initiatives‟ have a positive and significant

impact on „Ayurveda Awareness‟. Presently TV and Internet have taken the important place for

Ayurveda promotional initiatives in Indian urban market. On the other hand „Ayurveda Awareness‟

has the significant and positive influences on „Purchase intention of Ayurveda products‟. This has

an evidential proof from the findings of previous study.

Implication of Study

The research provides empirical support that Ayurveda Awareness could be effectively changed by

influencing the customer attitudes and perceptions through 1) monitoring and improving the current

Ayurveda promotional initiatives 2) taking corrective actions for identified issues 3) implementing

innovative marketing strategies for establishing Ayurveda in Indian urban market by giving a

competitive edge with the other popular medical systems. In case of Ayurveda marketing, it is clear

from the study that mainly TV advertisement and Internet are helping to penetrate the mind of the

customers in these segments. So, more initiatives should be taken on those media by the Ayurveda

practitioners and related product manufacturers. Specially local television channels can be targeted

to increase the awareness in Ayurvedic marketing. Attractive website design in terms of users‟

requirements can pull the attention of Ayurveda customers. The study found that different issues

and challenges are the key drivers to influence the awareness of people and purchase intention of

Ayurveda products in Indian urban market. So it is recommended that the practitioners and related


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50

product manufacturers should fight against different issues tactfully and strategically to improve

their present scenario. Issues which should be focused by Ayurveda sector are „Ethical and legal

issues‟ and „initiatives by Government and private organizations‟. The rectifying actions against

those issues can make Ayurveda practitioners and related product manufacturers more

representable in Indian urban market. The present research found that people are more sensitive and

mentally inclined towards Ayurveda than the other popular medical systems. Therefore,

management of Ayurveda practitioners and related product manufacturers should endeavour to

invest more money for intensive marketing initiatives and infrastructures to set up the brand.

Government should also monitor Ayurveda educational Institutions to maintain the education

standard for keeping a good image of Ayurvedic medical system in the market. This study will

assist Ayurveda marketers to develop customer centric innovative strategies to satisfy their

customers and improve the overall performances of Ayurveda organizations.

Conclusion

The influencing factors towards Ayurveda awareness have been identified and analyzed empirically

and theoretically in this research which can help to make the strategies for management of those

organizations and advertising agencies in urban India. This study provides empirical evidence by

using SEM in modeling customer awareness towards Ayurveda which is supported by previous

literature review. This study contributes current practicing conceptual model for Ayurveda which

has been suggested for their practitioner, researchers and academicians for further research.

Limitations of the Study

The following limitations should be considered when inferring the findings portion of this study.

The sample was limited to a particular city (Kolkata) of India. Therefore it cannot be considered as

a perfect representative of the total population and the statistical results may change in different

urban areas in India. Few previous studies which were not verified empirically had been utilized for

the development of research model. Also some significant articles possibly may have been

overlooked and as a result some new factors could not be enlightened in this study. The responses

of the respondents may change in different periods. These subjective changes of altering mind of

respondents in different periods can influence the research findings.

Scope for Future Research

Future research can find out more influencing factors for Ayurveda awareness. Future research

could extend by covering different geographical regions within India. The future study would be

related with comparing the global scenario of Ayurveda Awareness with respect to the Indian

scenario. There can be a further research on modified conceptual global model of Ayurveda

Awareness. This study highlights only on the urban Indian Context. So the Ayurveda Awareness in

rural Indian context would also be tested. Future study could create a differentiability model of

public and private sector initiatives on Ayurveda awareness. Future research may be on the theme

of how the demographic profiles (gender, occupation, education etc.) are related with Ayurveda

segments and deriving the model on it.


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51

Annexure:1

Constructs Questions on different Items

Ayurveda Awareness

(q1): Ayurveda treatments are reliable.

(q2): Ayurveda treatments are dependable.

(q3): Ayurveda is a natural treatment without artificiality.

Intention to Purchase

Ayurveda Products

(q4): You are interested to pursease Ayurveda products rather than non-

Ayurvedic products in our day today life.

(q5): Domestic as well as the international demand will be increased for

Indian Ayurveda market in near future.

(q6): The growth of diversified Ayurveda product profile in India

(medicine, food, cosmetics, toiletry products etc.) will attract more

customers in future.

Present Ayurveda

Promotional Initiatives

(q7): You have seen Ayurveda product advertisements on electronics

board or hoarding.

(q8): You have seen Ayurveda product advertisements in Print Media

(q9): You have seen Ayurveda product advertisements on T.V.

(q10): You have seen Ayurveda product advertisements on Internet

Competitive Edge with

popular medical system

(q11): Ayurveda treatments are inexpensive compare to the treatments

of popular medical systems.

(q12): Ayurvedic medicines and products have not any side effects

compared to popular medical systems.

(q13):Ayurveda provides overall wellness of the body rather than

focusing on a particular disease by popular medical systems.

(q14): Promoting Ayurveda is easier than the popular medical systems

because it is prevailing in Indian tradition.

Ethical & Legal Issues

& Challenges

(q15): Unethical business activities have not been observed in Indian

urban Ayurveda market.

(q16): Indian Legal rules and regulations are not the barriers to the

marketing of Ayurveda.

(q17): Indian Legal authority takes urgent actions against the unethical

business of Ayurveda.

Initiatives By

Government & Private

Organizations

(q18): Government & private investments are sufficient for the

development of Ayurveda sector.

(q19): Government regulatory bodies for Ayurveda are acting properly

to deal with different market issues in urban India.

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